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Many of you will remember James Ray from The Secret, where he most notably describes his classic metaphor of the universe as a wish-granting genie.

As a regular audiobook listener I am always looking for new educational and inspiration material to load onto my cherished iPod. Last month, I downloaded The Million Dollar Mindset from Audible.com and gave James Ray’s work a shot.

Like a lot of similar guides, The Million Dollar Mindset emphasizes the crucial role of mental focus and personal growth in success achievement. Yes, some of the content is old-hat, especially if you’re a long-time reader of the success genre. Still, much of what James Ray has to say is effectively revisited and reworked in new language – an essential characteristic for a work of this nature.

If you’re looking to start a new business, this book will help you get motivated and get you started in the right direction.

If you’re looking for a new way to think about money and wealth, this book will frame both concepts in new ways.

If you’re looking to redefine your ideas about success, this book is a great pick!

I am a big believer that mindset is crucial to success in all aspects of life. Having an audiobook like this is something like having a success coach in your pocket.

Consider The Million Dollar Mindset for your next “listen.” And check out James Ray’s other works while you’re at it…

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Perhaps the most important principle for starting and running a successful online business is “Find Your Niche!”

This is great advice.

The only problem: most people will never really tell you what a niche is or how to go about finding one.

Much of this problem is directly related to the definition itself. I recently hunted around for an appropriate explanation of “niche” and turned up these two interesting definitions:

1. a position or activity that particularly suits somebody’s talents and personality or that somebody can make his or her own;

AND,

2. an area of the market specializing in a particular type of product.

So here’s the problem:

The second definition is the very general approach you’ll hear most of the time. “Go find an area of speciality,” they say. “Look for your target market.”

Good advice? You bet it is. But something is definitely missing here. This is where we need to reconnect with the first definition, especially the part about what “somebody can make his or her own.”

The bottom line is if you’re going to be successful in any niche, it must *suit* you – it must be an appropriate fit for who you are.

I recently read about one Harvard professors theory of “Multiple Intelligences” and how each of us occupies one or more areas specific to who we are and where we excel – whether in kinesthetic, linguistic, spiritual, musical or other such areas.

This is a great place to begin looking for your niche.

The key, of course, is to bridge that gap between what’s unique to you in personality and what can be developed into a valuable product and service for a hungry marketplace.

I’m not a fan of “life purpose” as the singular source for personal direction and fulfillment. So much about “life” and “purpose” changes in our fast-paced societies that anything suggesting permanence makes me suspicious.

I prefer to think more in terms of “strengths” and “assets.” Yes, these key areas also change throughout life, but at least these have some staying power.

Without a doubt, the most successful businesses are founded and managed by those with a core strength in that area. In other words, the business owner is not just in it for the profit – there’s a driving purpose or force behind the business before there is a high-level of profit.

You might also think of your life purpose as more of a theme. I’ve always appreciated the word “theme” because it helps to make something clear without forcing unnecessary boundaries around an idea or experience.

In my own business development, I have found it helpful to have an over-arching theme help guide me along by providing a core area of interest that is also flexible enough to help me remain open to some projects that don’t exactly fit the mold.

Since choosing www.mindfulentrepreneur.com for this site, I have found the theme of “Mindfulness” to be fruitful in so many different and satisfying ways. Not only do I enjoy thinking about products and services that might contribute to the lives of others, but I also enjoy applying these same interests to my own life. I’m sure you’ve gathered that by now.

Truly, I don’t think entrepreneurs can help but to build purpose into business – it’s just what we do. But I will say that if you’re having any trouble moving forward in your own progress, this may very well be your hang up.

What’s your business focus? What’s your theme? What’s your life purpose?

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What’s the most promising product to create and sell for substantial profit in today’s economy?

I know… you’ve heard it all before, but I’m going to drive it home again.

That’s right: information.

Dan Kennedy’s book, How to Make Millions with Your Ideas, provides just one more testament to the fact.

What I really enjoy about this book is Kennedy’s approach to demonstrating the importance of creating vertical businesses or profit-centers around one key area of proven success. This is where information comes into play, maximizing profit potential through successful creation and marketing of print-on-demand or digital information products.

In the world of internet business, perhaps the most successful area of information profit lies in showing others how to succeed in their own online business efforts.

If you’re plugged into the stream of internet gurus, I’m sure you’re well aware of the multitude of products available in this highly saturated niche. Despite the saturation, I’m sure many of the pros and newcomers are making a substantial amount of money selling their ideas.

Check out Dan Kennedy’s dated but classic read How to Make Millions with Your Ideas today and start cultivating your own mental moneymaker.

What is your ultimate goal in building an internet business?

• Do you want to earn $1,000,000 per year and work 50 hours per week.
• Do you want to earn $250,000 per year and work 5 hours per week.
• Do you want to hire 100 employees and become the next “dot com” name?
• Do you want to remain a solo entrepreneur and outsource it all?

These are some of the top questions I ask myself these days as I continue to build my own internet business.

I owe much of my current thinking to Tim Ferriss’ widely influential book The Four Hour Work Week. Since encountering Ferriss’ ideas and beginning to model my own success after him, I have begun to see that book as a manifesto for my own “Begin with the End in Mind” vision.

Still, one major problem I have had with applying and enacting The Four Hour Work Week system is balance. While Ferriss speaks a lot about the importance of outsourcing work, applying the 80/20 rule, and prioritizing lifestyle, he doesn’t speak much to the initial path towards success.

It may be feasible to take an already thriving company and transform it into a muse that requires little attention and generates loads of passive income, but what about building the muse in the first place?

Again, that pesky word keeps coming back: BALANCE.

The primary point I want to convey in this article is that your priority as an entrepreneur should be to begin with the end in mind in such a way that all of your work today contributes to the ultimate destination or objective you want to achieve tomorrow.

In my case, I am still climbing the ladder of internet business success. I have several projects underway, each with excellent long-term potential. Sure, I’m not earning anywhere close to my desired income level but I can see the end along the horizon.

After reading Ferriss’ book I took a lot of time out from my business and started asking fundamental questions about my life and where I am headed – including those questions above.

Immediately, I knew some of my projects had to go if I hoped to arrive at my desired destination. The changes that resulted were more of a precision reconfiguration than a total business overhaul. It was something like planning a trip abroad. Suddenly, instead of deciding to hop on a plane and land anywhere in Europe, I began to see my destination with greater precision. Instead of “I want to get to Europe,” the goal became “I want to get to the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France on June 20, 2010.” Precision is the key.

The remarkable thing about beginning with the end in mind is when I actually do arrive, I’ll really know I’m there. I know this sounds obvious but it’s really quite significant.

First, there’s a specific deadline. Trust me, I’ll know whether I’m in Paris on June 20, 2010 or not.

Second, there’s a specific destination. Again, Paris is not Amsterdam or Berlin, so there should be no confusion about where I actually arrive.

And, perhaps most importantly, there’s a clear vision. Think about it: If I say I want to go to Europe, you get this rather vague picture in your mind about what “Europe” is and why I’m there.

But if I say “I want to go to Paris,” the vision is clear. I can picture that and bring it to life in my mind. The more I think about that vision, the more I’ll understand my goal in the first place.

I’m sure you’ve had enough of this travel analogy, but I really think this is an effective way of thinking about internet business goals because of the emphasis on geography, terrain, and navigation.

When you’re traveling, you’re really trying to get some place. You want to transform your reality from where you are to where you want to be. It’s pretty easy to do that in travel since everything around you literally changes once you make it happen.

Of course, “traveling success” and “business success” have one very important difference. Traveling goals require only a temporary effort of change, while entrepreneurship goals require a much more lasting form of change on the internal and external planes.

All comparisons have their limitations, but I think this metaphor of navigation can be very effective in helping you transform your business vision to begin with the end in mind today.

Where do you want to go?

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